Job Shop, Tooling

“Thanks for your support. As I say, ‘VERICUT is still my right arm.’ What a great product. I still have about a 98% chance that the first part off the machine is a good part! VERICUT has saved us thousands of dollars and will continue to save us money. Again, thanks for a great product.”
– Charles Huffman, NC Programmer, Gibbs Machine & Tool

“Prior to Unigraphics, (i.e. manufacturing and programming using conventional systems) our scrap rate was running between 4 – 5% Using Unigraphics to program 5-axis machining, with no verification, our scrap rate jumped up to 33%… in other words one in every three jobs were scrap. Introducing a combination of Unigraphics and VERICUT into the department, within months our scrap rate plummeted to 0.4%. With experience, we now maintain a scrap rate of 0.2% on all tooling programmed and verified through VERICUT.”
– Andy Horsnall, CAM Programmer, Seco Tools (UK) Limited

“Before investing in VERICUT a new propeller part would take about a week on the machine. We’d run the machine at around 10% and watch carefully to be sure there were no incorrect moves. With VERICUT we can see the piece and how it will be cut, a big benefit in 5-axis machining. After running it through VERICUT we just load and go and it’s off the machine in a day. It also offers high-end part measurement tools and the ability to simulate the entire machine which helps us avoid problems like overtravel or interferences with the table or fixtures.”
– Greg Thayer, Programmer, Cimtech/Ellstrom Manufacturing

“We use Mastercam to program 3½ and 4-axis aerospace/defense and light commercial parts. Mastercam’s verification is just a visual reference. We verify everything we do in VERICUT, whether it’s a complex part or a square block. Because the internal verifier does not match its accuracy or capabilities, VERICUT complements Mastercam nicely. With VERICUT we’re confident programs are correct and the confidence level on the shop floor is greatly improved. Now we’re able to verify the subtle things like measuring part features or detect undercutting on a corner, for example. Before implementing VERICUT, we were having some difficulty getting first-time programs through the shop. Now we’re quickly approaching our goal of an 80% perfect-part ratio on all first-time programs.”
– Creg Crones, Programming Dept. Mgr., ProCam Machine

“Due to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, United Airlines Maintenance and Engineering teams were tasked with designing and fabricating flight deck security systems for the cockpit doors for our entire fleet of aircraft. We were working under a very tight timetable. The Numerical Control Programming area produced a number of programs for various components. All of our programs were verified on VERICUT, which proved to be of critical assistance to our meeting and indeed beating our deadline. The ability to “prove out” programs before they hit the shop floor saved us a considerable amount of time. We at United Airlines appreciate the quality product you provide and thank you for helping us achieve enhanced security for our passengers and employees.”
– Lou Lucivero, Technical Supervisor, CNC Programming, United Airlines

“VERICUT is a productivity tool used at Parker Hannifin’s Racor Division in Modesto, California. The tool path optimization capability takes a significant amount of time off our production machining. A good example is a new project that requires four programs to machine two parts with finishing on four sides. Without optimizing the tool paths, the machining time would have taken 378 minutes. After running the programs through VERICUT’s optimization feature, the machining time was reduced to a total of 215 minutes. Since the requirement is 30 parts, the result of using the optimization feature is a savings of more than 81 hours on one job alone.”
– Ben Miller, Tool & Die Programmer, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Racor Division

“I would like to express to your staff how much I and other programmers appreciate the product. Having talked to many programmers that have been in the business for many years, they, like myself have grown to feel that this is one the most important tools in the programming business. Time saved and reputations unmarred, by good proofs – first time – makes this tool invaluable. Just time saved by not having to be present at proofs gives programmers more time to be writing code and actually programming. The savings on scrapped parts and material pays for the software many times over. I am obviously a sold user of VERICUT and will continue to pass nothing but praise of VERICUT to others.”
– Stan Boland, Systems & Programming Manager, Brek Manufacturing

“VERICUT is an important part of our manufacturing process. Everything we program goes through VERICUT for verification before it goes to the shop. We’ve been able to completely eliminate manual prove-outs. Considering the savings in proofing time, proofing materials, scheduling time, and machine time – we’re saving at least one million dollars a year as a result.”
– Hector Davis, Director of Manufacturing, ADI

“With the strong showing that VERICUT has made at TECH Mfg. thus far, there’s no question as to whether or not it is a worthwhile investment. In fact, our plant manager, Jerry Jones, came to me and said, ‘You know, I really think that VERICUT has already paid for itself on this part alone.’ Now that’s not the kind of thing programmers are used to hearing from a plant manager!”
– William A. Stinson, head of CAD/CAM department, TECH Manufacturing Co.

“In this day and age praise is something that seems to be lacking in everyday life, but I am a great believer in giving credit where credit is due – and this is certainly true of VERICUT. In the competitive world of motor sport racing, the ability to react swiftly and with confidence is paramount. Since we have been using VERICUT we have been able to achieve both of these things. Program accuracy and efficiency has increased enormously and the accuracy of the cut model means that we can be sure that when the NC program hits the shop floor it is correct. It’s hard to imagine what it was like before we had this product at our disposal, and it is certainly the best engineering software that I have seen or had the pleasure to use in a long time.”
– Phil Harpham, Principal Engineer, Cosworth Racing

“Lockheed in Georgia is extremely pleased with the performance of VERICUT. The product is used to simulate machines that mill parts for the F22 fighter. The parts are programmed, post processed for the specified machine, processes verified and dimensional accuracy determined all at the same workstation. VERICUT has identified hard to predict rotary moves that would violate part geometry. These moves are generated at the post processing step and are not present at conventional verification stages. VERICUT paid for its purchase the first time it was used and prevented a collision with a very expensive F22 bulkhead. VERICUT is a mandatory step in the creation of NC data before it is made available for shop execution.”
– Dave Watson, Manufacturing Engineer, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical

“VERICUT has revolutionized the way we approach CNC programming at Hycalog. Before the introduction of VERICUT at our Stonehouse plant in 1998 we were consuming valuable engineering and production time manually checking part programs and doing single block prove-outs on machines. Now a very defined amount of engineering time is spent in between program compilation and the first-off production run to produce a part program that engineer and operator alike have confidence in. The majority of our part programs are for 5-axis machining centers and are an extremely complex mix of linear and surface machining operations. VERICUT clearly had the technical edge over all of the other systems we tested for this type of work and it continues to satisfy our requirements. It must rank as one of Hycalog’s most successful and cost effective purchases.
– Haydn Lamb, Production Engineering Manager, Reed Hycalog

“VERICUT enables us to see what will happen on the machine. It’s a big help in off-line programming because it enables the machinist to view a ‘playback’ simulation so they will be more comfortable with the part program when they machine. Consequently, we’re more productive which is important because this is an extremely dynamic environment – design changes happen rapidly as we’re building parts.”
– Scott Vanderzyl, NC Programmer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

“After running the tooling programs through VERICUT, we know they will be machined correctly the first time – the program has saved us significant time and money since its implementation into our process.”
– Eric Smith, Master Tooling Engineer, Jostens, Inc.

“We do no tool proofing. We go right to the machine, start the program and run. There are occasions that we send our people home, turn the lights out and run our finished machining programs the first time with nobody there. That’s how confident our programmers and we as a management team are in VERICUT.”– Jerry Anthony, President, UCAR Composites, Inc.

“The only real way for us to check our G-code programs is with VERICUT. Just after we got the software we had a fourth-axis positioning job running on the floor. There were a lot of manual changes to the G-code and it was hard for us to tell if the job was running optimally. It was a part for a laser application; a turbine device with deep pockets on an angle. It would have been extremely difficult for the machinist to see some of the cuts that were taking place, and the cycle time was at least 13 hours. VERICUT saved us a tremendous amount of time by enabling us to run the job on the computer rather than having to cut a test part out of wax or foam to check it. And after running it through VERICUT we eliminated a number of inefficient motions and reduced the cycle time down to 11 hours. With a production job like this one where we’re running 20 pieces a month for the past year and a half, that adds up to significant savings.”– Jim Narimatsu, BPS Industries, Inc.

“Not only have we greatly reduced the amount of error at the machine, we’ve eliminated the need to proof programs at the machine. We do all our prove-outs on the computer, and that keeps our machines open for production work. We’re a much more efficient operation as a result. VERICUT has enabled us to speed production, reduce costs along the way, and improve the quality of our products.”– Jon Allen, Research & Development Department, Minco Tool & Mold, Inc.

“VERICUT has enabled us to save a lot of time. Previously, we had to cut tooling board, then reprogram. We now have much more confidence to go from program straight to the machine.”– Dave Harder, Engineering Coordinator, Wisconsin Pattern

“The use of VERICUT Machine Simulation has been a critical factor in the successful implementation of our new 5-axis machines.”– Bill Taylor, Production Engineering Manger, Aerostructures Hamble, Ltd.

“OptiPath is an indispensable tool for us. We routinely save a tremendous amount of machining time after optimizing our feed rates — usually around 50%. The last job we ran was a rear quarter trim panel that would normally take more than 48 hours to machine. With OptiPath, it took under 26 hours.”– Cas Szczepanski, CNC Department Supervisor, Chrysler Jeep & Truck Engineering

“We wanted to go straight to steel with the roughing programs without doing a test run. (With VERICUT) the result was that we were able to go ‘straight to steel’ and had absolutely no problems with tool breakage, collisions, or excessive tool wear due to long run times. We saved a lot of time and re-work with VERICUT.”– Brian Roberts, NC Coordinator, EXCO Engineering

“We’re extremely happy with VERICUT. We use the software to optimize our NC tool paths to reduce cycle times. In the past six months we’ve documented nearly $25,000 in real savings (on six parts) due to the reduced amount of machining time required.”– David Knapik, NC Programming Supervisor, Dowty Aerospace

“The first time we used OptiPath, we reduced our roughing time by 50%. We expect the same type of great results as we begin to use the software for roughing and finishing cuts on other parts.”– Mark Parrish, Senior NC Programmer, Patriot Machine, Inc.

“We’re a tool & die maker and we use VERICUT’s OptiPath module to reduce the time it takes us to create our 3D form stations for the dies. We optimize the roughing cuts, the first and second semi-finishing operations, and the contour re-machining or “radius picking” operations (clean-up to remove any remaining material). OptiPath is an excellent tool for use with our CAM system. Our CAM system generates excellent tool paths, but not very efficient ones. We’re able to bring the time spent on air cuts down to a minimum. The result is that we routinely save at least a third off our machining time. On some of our long jobs, this can mean some pretty big savings. For example, I’ve got one job out on the floor right now — after optimizing the feed rates, we’re saving about $3,500 dollars worth of machine time on that part alone.”– Jeff Abbott, CAD Leader, Die Dimensions

“The first contract programming job I did using OptiPath saved 12 hours on a program that originally took 22 hours to machine.”– John Fortuna, Competition Design

“We design aluminum injection molds, mostly for automotive lighting products. OptiPath was easy to learn and we were verifying and optimizing our tool paths on day one. As a prototype builder, we’re constantly up against really tight schedules. And the parts we make are quite expensive. We can’t afford to make a mistake, scrap a job, or let a deadline slip. Our tool paths are better than ever before and we’ve reduced a great deal of redundancy. And probably the biggest benefit is that we’re a much more efficient operation now. The programming process is smoother, and we routinely notice at least a 30% to 40% time savings on our roughing and semi-finishing operations.”– David Neuman, CAM Operator, Accurate Stamp

“JK Machining makes plastic injection molds for the automotive industry. For the type of work we do, we’ve found VERICUT’s OptiPath module to be really valuable. It saves us a lot of time on our roughing cuts – I’d estimate usually around 50%. And I don’t have to stand by the machine turning the dial. Before, if I wanted to walk away from the machine for a few minutes, I’d have to slow the feed rate down to like 40 inches/minute. Now I don’t even have to worry about it. I program at 100 inches/minute and OptiPath slows the machine down when necessary – it’s automatic and I’m free to do other things.”– Rick Van Den Berg, NC Programmer, JK Machining

“We’re currently using OptiPath on our rouging cuts, and are in the process of putting it to use for our semi-finishing and finishing cuts as well. We’ve seen some really good results. One of the benefits that we didn’t anticipate is the jump in productivity we got because our machinists can now attend to another job while the machine is cutting at full capacity. They don’t have to worry about the exit or entry motions happening at too high of a feed rate and breaking a tool or ruining the part.”– Jack Flietstra, CAM Programmer, HS Die & Engineering

“We use OptiPath with our CAM system on all our roughing cuts and we save between 40% and 50% in machine time. We used to have an operator manually control the machine feed rates, especially for moving into heavier material areas. Now that OptiPath completely controls all feed rates based on material conditions, we can run our machines unattended.”– Paul Coombs, CNC Manager, Micro-Matic Tool

“We recently decided to machine the 17 inch diameter fuel valves for the orbiter spacecraft in-house. Considering the material and machining hours, once assembled these parts are quite expensive. We were using a brand new machine which we had no experience with; in fact, the ET Valve Body was the first NC part we’d cut on that machine. We started by simulating the machine in VERICUT and verifying the tool paths for the roughing operation. The software caught a number of errors that would have scrapped the part. Machine Simulation identified several axis over-travel moves and areas where the fixture was being machined. When these errors were corrected we optimized the NC programs and ran it on the machine. Practically everybody in the shop came over to watch. The spindle was running at 7,000 RPM and the machine sounded like a jet engine! The machine was taking off material so fast that the chip conveyer couldn’t keep up! After adjusting the load, the torque sensor needle was basically ‘glued in place.’ The software varied the feed rate in response to the material volume presented to the cutter, using close to 80% of the available horsepower the whole time the cutters were engaged.”– Rich Seifert, Manufacturing Engineer, Boeing (Huntington Beach; Palmdale)

“We manufacture large aerospace parts like wing spars which can be between 20’ feet and 40 feet long. With the types parts we cut, optimization is an extremely valuable tool. For example, the stock billet for a particular rear wing spar measures 480″ and weighs 2,500 pounds. 95% of the material is removed during machining, and when it’s done, the finished part weighs 128 pounds. On parts like this we use the software to maintain a constant volume removal rate, in this case around 85 cubic inches per minute, to keep the spindle load where we want it. By optimizing the roughing passes on that one particular part, we knocked ~25% off the machining time. That equates to saving thousands of dollars – and paid for the software. And that’s just one part. We cut a lot of parts, and more than half of those have heavy material removal where optimization is invaluable.”– Dan Hornung, NC Programming Manager, Contour Aerospace

“The biggest advantage to the optimization software has been out on the shop floor. During tests, the department figured it is saving 30% in machine run time on graphite electrode machining. And we’ve seen up to 45% (machine run time) savings in some cases.”– Dan Swartz, Director of Engineering, Delaware Machinery

“In my ten plus years dealing with software support, you are the best. You should all be very proud of the job you’re doing. You have an excellent product and incredible support. Keep up the good work.”– Jonathan Stephens, NC Programmer, Composite Optics, Inc.

“I’d like you to know that I really enjoyed working with VERICUT and CGTech people. You are among the most enthusiastic, motivated an professional suppliers that I worked with. Thank you for everything!”– Ramon Magermans, Project Manager, PHILIPS Enabling Technologies Group

“Running our programs through VERICUT enables us to fix errors before ever using any machine time. This gives the Operators the confidence to setup and run the programs at 100 percent once they do reach the machine. It also allows the engineer the ability to inspect a virtual part after completing multiple operations and with the rising cost of raw material, that’s a huge benefit in itself.”
– Raymond Dix, Manufacturing Engineer, Modern Industries

“VERICUT saved us $30,000.00 on one part alone.”
– John Sweeney, NC Programmer, Schmiede Corporation

“VERICUT is one of the most powerful and under utilized tools available today.”
– Gary Wills, Director of Mfg., D&H Manufacturing Company